What we do

What we do

Project Support

Since 1969, the Trust has supported many individuals, teams and chess events, including the international Glorney and Faber Cup events, particularly when hosted in Scotland. Recent support includes:

financial support to enable a remote primary school in the Western Isles to take a group of pupils to a competition on the mainland - reported in the Stornoway Gazette

financial support that helped a Primary School in Glasgow send pupils to compete in a major UK schools chess competition

grants towards the purchase of equipment by a popular, voluntary-run regional schools chess league

partnership in a Chess Scotland / software developer initiative to make available through education authorities a free Scottish schools version of the commercial chess learning program "Dinosaur Chess", including classroom white board tools

grants towards the costs to Chess Scotland of hosting the 2005 and 2010 Glorney and Faber Cups

The Trust has also supported national, regional and local training and coaching schemes and contributed towards the costs of sending Scotland's junior representatives abroad.

The "Visiting Chess Coach"

A Scottish Government endorsed research project on "Chess Development in Aberdeen's Primary Schools" (University of Aberdeen 2005) concluded that "substantial funding for chess development in Scotland's primary schools could improve literacy, numeracy and the confidence of pupils who require learning support" and argued a case for "a new specialist - the visiting chess coach".

Most chess teaching in schools remains essentially voluntary, led by teachers and parents - and we encourage and support that. But if any school feels that they might wish to devise such "specialist" schemes, we would be happy to offer advice and, where appropriate, help in seeking possible matching fund arrangements with other bodies, such as education authorities and larger charities.